Ornament making and fastener applying apparatus



2,992,431 ORNAMENT MAKING AND FASTENER APPLYING APPARATUS Filed March 9, 1960 P. B. JENSEN July 18, 1961 n 1 Rn Y t O E a ..J m a H 0 w w h A m m sa a P I Y 2 5 w 4. 4 a 6 3 6 M. 3 4 fi a I ivmnm I 51121;: CFCLLL c 3 4 rullli MI 32.0.1 2 l P. B. JENSEN July 18, 1961 ORNAMENT MAKING AND FASTENER APPLYING APPARATUS Filed March 9, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 p B. Jensen ORNEY INVENTOR Phlli BY United States Patent re 2,992,431 ORNAMENT MAKING AND FASTENER APPLYING APPARATUS Philip B. Jensen, Naugatuck, Conn., assignor to Scovill Manufacturing Company, Waterbury, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Filed Mar. 9, 1960, Ser. No. 13,839 6 Claims. (Cl. 1-124) This invention relates to a machine for simultaneously making a decorative ornament and securing the same to a garment with a snap fastener.

Heretofore, when a decorative ornament piece was attached with a fastener element to a garment, particularly of the type worn by children, it was accomplished first by cutting the ornament piece from a strip of material, manually inserting the attaching part of the fastener member through the ornament piece, assembling them in a suitable locating recess in the machine, and then finally operating the machine for joining together the fastener parts and the ornament piece to said gar-ment.

It is, therefore, one of the objects of this invention to provide a simple fastener setting machine into which a continuous strip of material may be fed and from which a decorative ornament or reinforcing blank can be cut by a cutting punch and die that surrounds the fastener setting station and secured to a garment or support by a fastener member co-incident with the fastener setting operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a very simple ornament-cutting mechanism that can be incorporated into the anti-wrinkling unit of a fastener setting machine of the type disclosed in the Wolif et al. Patent 2,310,008.

The full nature of the invention, including other objects and various advantages thereof, will be more fully understood from a consideration of the following descriptions along with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the ornament-cutting unit embodying my invention as it appears attached to a portion of a fastener setting machine;

'FIG. 2 is a front view of the same with portions broken away to show interior elements and adding a portion of the upper fastener setting unit of the machine;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the same taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary View of FIG. 3 showing the tools as they appear at the end of the ornament-cutting and fastener setting operation;

FIG. 5 is a side view on a small scale of a typical fastener setting machine having my ornament-cutting device applied thereto;

FIG. 6 is a front view of a portion of a garment showing a typical ornament that may be cut and attached thereto by my invention; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a piece of garment support, cut ornament and attaching fastener elements in spaced relationship.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 5 shows a side view of a typical fastener setting machine 10 having the usual head 11 in which a plunger 12 operates and a lower support projection 13 which serves to support the lowersetting die 14 and the ornament-cutting unit of my invention. This machine is adapted to set snap fastener elements upon a garment S, the elements which may be of the type shown in FIG. 7, consisting of a socket 15 and an attaching prong ring 16.

The mechanism for receiving and setting the prong ring 16 is best shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. The prong ring 16 is fed into a receiver 17 through a feed track 18 by a pusher slide 19. The prong ring 16 is held in the Patented July 18, 1961 receiver 17 by suitable spring-tensioned jaws 20 in alignment with the lower setting die 14 which is fitted and supported on the lower support projection 13. The receiver 17 is formed with a dependent sleeve 22 that reciprocally slides on the die 14 and is moved against the influence of a spring 23 compressed between said receiver 17 and a shoulder 24 on die 14. The upper movement of the receiver is limited by a cross-pin 25 carried by the die 14 and abutted by the lower end of a pair of opposed longitudinal slots 26 in the receiver sleeve 22.

The mechanism for cutting the ornament piece B,

which is here shown as a four-leaf scallop, and also embodying an anti-wrinkling unit of the type referred to in the above patent, consists of a frame 28 pivoting on a pair of support blocks 27 attached to the opposite sides of support projection 13 as by screws 27a. Specifically, the frame 28 is provided with a depending lug 29 hingedly hung on a pivot pin 30 carried by the support blocks 27. Interfitted with and extending above the frame is a punch-support bracket 31 that is suitably fitted about the receiver 17 and secured thereto "by special screws 32 so that the bracket 31 and the receiver 17 will travel as a unit when the machine is operated. The punch bracket 3-1 is held in elevated position above the frame 28 by a pair of heavy coil springs 33 having their opposite ends seated in suitable recesses in the adjacent faces of the frame 28 and punch bracket 31. The bracket 31 is held as a unit to the frame 28 by a pair of side guides 34 secured to the frame by screws 34a, and the upper ends of said guides have inturned lugs 35 that operate in guide channels 36 formed in opposite walls of said bracket. In normal position, the guide lugs '35 abut against the shoulders 36a at the lower ends of the channels 36 to limit the upward movement of said bracket 31 under the tensional springs 33. The reciprocating movement of the bracket 31 is further stabilized by guide walls 37 projecting forwardly of and formed as an integral part of the support projection 13. These walls have bearing engagement with the inner surfaces of said bracket 31 (see FIG. 3).

In order to out an ornamental blank from a strip of material M as it is directed through the machine, a hollow blanking punch 40is carried by the punch bracket 31 and is adapted to slip down about the lower setting die 14 when the machine is in operation. The punch 40 is shaped to cut out the desired ornament piece B from the strip of material M, such as a four-leaf scallop shown in FIG. 7.

Located above and in spaced relationship to the punch bracket 31 is a die support plate 41 and a stripper plate 42. The plate 41 carries a blanking die 43 secured in its upper surface and which die has a center cut-out 43a that is complementary to the blanking punch 40. As seen in FIG. 1, the die 43 is made from a rectangular piece of hardened material and is set into a complementary slot in the upper surface of the die support plate 41. In order to properly align the blanking punch 40 and the blanking die 43, the plates 41 and 42 are made secure to the upper ends of pillar pins 44, four in this instance with one located at each corner of the plates 41 and 42 and adapted to have a slidable fit in holes 45 provided in the punch bracket 31. As a further means for assuring alignment between the punch 40 and die 43, the support plate 41 is formed with a depending lip 41a of suflicient length to slightly overlie the front upper surface of the punch bracket 31. A similar lip 41b is likewise provided at the rear edge of said support plate. The plates 41 and 42 are normally urged upwardly in spaced relation to the punch bracket 31 by relatively light coiled springs 46, a pair of which are located on each side of the blanking station (see FIG. 1). The springs 46 abut against the underside of the stripper plate 42 and are seated in suitable sockets 47 in the upper part oft-he punch bracket 31; The lower end of each pillar pin 44 has a washer 48 secured thereto by screws 48a, and said washers abut against the undersurface of the punch bracket 31 for the purpose of limiting the outward movement of the plates 41 and 42 under the influence of springs 46 which are positioned in their respective sockets in a compressed state. A suitable guide channel 49 is provided between the plates 41 and 42 through which the strip material M is guided in proper alignment with the ornament-cutting punch 40 and die 43.

It is to be noted that the frame 28, the die bracket 31, the plates 41 and 42 and various other parts associated therewith are all connected together as a unit and for the sake of convenience, will be referred to as the ornament-cutting unit. This interconnection of the several parts of the ornament-cutting unit is for the punpose of permitting said unit to swing forwardly of the machine around the pivot pin 30 when it is necessary to inspect or remove the lower setting die 1-4 and the receiver 17. As explained above, the die bracket 31 of this unit is made secure to the receiver 17 by special screws 32.

In order to disconnect the ornament-cutting unit from the receiver '17, the front wall of the punch bracket 31 is provided with an opening 50 formed with arcuate upper corners 51. The heads of the screws 32 are formed with cut-off portions 32a such as best seen in FIG. 2. When the screws 32 are turned a certain amount, these cut-off portions 32a will clear the arcuate corners 51 of the bracket 31 and permit the ornament-blanking unit, to swing forwardly of the receiver 17 and associated parts;

Considering now the tools carried by the upper plunger 12, there is provided a setting punch 52 and a receiver 53 similar to the one described in the Wolff et al. Patent 2,310,088 referred to above and into which socket 15 is fed through the usual feed track by a pusher slide not shown. The receiver 53 consists of a sleeve 54 having an enlarged head 55 in which are fitted spring-tensioned jaws 56 for receiving the socket 15. The receiver 53 is tensioned downwardly by a coil spring 57 compressed between the sleeve head 55 and a shoulder 58 formed on the punch 52; The lower surface of the enlarged receiver head 55 and the upper surface of the blanking die 43 serve as garment-compression plates that are adapted to clamp the garment therebetween prior to the fastener setting operation to prevent wrink ling of the same during the fastener setting operation.

I In the operation of the machine, it will be understood that the socket 15 will have been fed into the receiver 513 and a prong ring 16 into its receiver 17 from a previous cycle of operation. The strip of material M will be advanced through the channel 49 to overlie the blanking" punch 40 and a garment piece S supported upon the die support plate 41 and properly registered as: to the position where the fastener elements 15 and 16 and the ornament B are to be set upon said garment. The machine is then set into operation whereupon the plunger 12 will descend to first firmly compress the garment material between the receiver head 53 and the upper face of the blanking die 43 around the area that is to receive the fastener element. This is for the purpose of preventing' the material from puckering, all as explained in the above-referred to Wolff patent.

Continued downward movement of the plunger 12 will next carry the die plate 41 and stripper plate 42 against the compressive forces of the springs 46 to a position where said stripper plate will abut the upper face of the punch bracket 31. This movement of the plates 41 and 42 as best seen in FIG. 3 will sever the ornament piece B from the strip material M and confine it within the blanking die 43. As the plunger 12 descends further to the end of its downward stroke as seen in FIG. 4, the plates 41 and 42 will force the punch bracket 31 downwardly carrying with it the prong ring receiver 17 whereupon the prong ring 16 sitting on top of the punch 14 will be forced through the ornament piece B, the garment material S and clinched within the socket member '15.

In completing the cycle of operation, the plunger 12 will ascend, returning all the parts of the ornament-cutting unit to their normal uppermost position, and then the garment may be removed from the machine with the ornament piece secured to the garment by the fastener elements as shown in FIG. 6.

While the above machine has been described as serv-' ing to cut out an ornament piece to be set upon a garment by a fastener member co-incident with the fastener setting operation, it is within the purview of this invention to cut out blanks of reinforcing material and attach them in the same manner as the ornament piece to a garment support that needs reinforcement in the area where a fastener is to be set.

It is to be understood that various changes can be made in the construction and assembly of parts without departing from my invention or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In an apparatus for blanking an ornament from a strip of material in combination with a snap fastener setting machine including upper and lower fastener setting die units for setting fastener parts on a garment piece, said apparatus having an ornament-cutting unit including a blanking punch and die associated with said lower fastener setting die unit, means for holding said blanking punch and die in spaced relationship in a tensioned state, means for guiding said strip of material between said blanking punch and die, means for moving said blanking punch and die together whereby an ornament piece will be blanked out of said strip of material, and means for causing said ornament piece to be picked up by one of said fastener parts and set against a garment piece during the operation of said fastener setting die units in securing the complemental fastener parts together;

2. In an apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the means for moving the blanking punch and die together is the upper fastener setting die unit contacting said blank ing die ahead of the setting operation of said fastener parts.

3. In a machine for blanking ornament pieces from a strip of flat stock and setting them on garments with snap fastener members, said machine having means for attaching the companion parts of said fastener members upon said garment including upper and ilower fastener setting dies, an ornament-cutting die and punch associated with said lower fastener setting die, means for g'ui'ding said flat stock between said cutting die and punch, means for moving said cutting die and punch into tele scoped relationship for cutting said ornament piece from said flat stock coincident with the initial stroke of the fastener setting machine, means for causing one of the fastener members to pierce though said orn'ament piece and aflix it to said garment co-incident with the finished stroke of said machine.

4. In a machine for blanking ornament pieces from a strip of material and setting them on garments with snap fastener members, said machine having means for attach ing the companion parts of said snap fastener members upon said garment including upper and lower fastener setting dies, said machine having an ornament-cutitng unit associated with said lower fastener setting die, said unit comprising a punch support bracket and a die support plate held in spaced relationship and movable toward and away from each other under spring tension, an ornament-cutting punch and an ornament-cutting die carried by said bracket and plate respectively in line with said fastener setting dies, means for guiding a strip of material between said ornament-cutting punch and die, means for moving said bracket and plate toward each other whereby said blanking punch and die will blank out an ornament piece from said strip of stock, and means for causing a fastener element set by said lower die to pick up said ornament piece and afiix it to a garment piece during the fastener setting operation.

5. A machine for blanking ornament pieces as defined in claim 4 wherein said ornament-cutting unit is hingedly mounted on the machine and is movable into and out of associated relationship with said lower fastener Setting die. r11

6. In a machine for cutting from a strip of material blanks to serve as an ornament piece or a reinforcing piece and setting them on garments with fastener ele ments, said machine comprising upper and lower fastener setting dies in axial alignment with the setting station of the machine, upper and lower garment-compression plates associated respectively with said upper and lower fastener setting dies, said plates being normally disposed ahead of said dies for compressing the garment material about the setting station before the dies come together for setting the fastener elements, a blanking die and punch normally in spaced relation carried by said lower plate and between which a strip of material may be fed, said lower plate being a compound plate wherein one part is movable toward another part, one part carries the blanking die and the other part carries the blanking punch, means for operating said upper die and associated upper plate downwardly whereby initial downward movement of said upper plate will first contact one part of said lower plate and move it toward the other part of said lower plate and force said cutting die and punch together to cut a piece of prescribed shape from said strip in line with said setting station, said cutting die and punch being apertured whereby they may thereafter move downwardly over the lower setting die while the blanked piece is being attached to a garment co-incident with the setting of a fastener element.

No references cited. 

